The Commission will have a designated time of 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for participants who are calling in. Each caller will be given a maximum of three minutes. The amount of time may be reduced based upon the number of participants. This phone-in option is intended for persons outside of the Denver Metro Area/Front Range Region who cannot attend in person.

Participants will need to pre-register for this call-in session no later than February 14, 2014. You will be asked to provide the following information: your name, your address, your phone number, an email address if applicable, and the name of a particular group that you may be representing if applicable.

**Your words to the state agency can make the difference. Below is a sample letter that you can send or re-write.**

The proposed rules would reduce smog-causing Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) by roughly 92,000 tons/year, and save the oil & gas industry money by the capture and use of sellable product. That’s good news for places like western Colorado, where we have frequent inversions in the winter leading to a “brown cloud” over some valleys. Some places, like Mesa County, have seen brown clouds settle into valleys for weeks at a time, resulting in unhealthy conditions.

The draft is a great first step, but more should be done to protect public health, agricultural production and quality of life. So let’s certainly make sure industry doesn’t water them down. Air Quality rules make economic sense. Clean air and beautiful views are a draw to tourists and one of the reasons we all enjoy Colorado. Three companies are already wanting to fix leaky equipment because it saves them money–fewer leaks mean more gas in the pipeline to be sold to consumers. That’s why Anadarko Petroleum, Encana USA and Noble Energy all support the proposed regulations. But a coalition is working to stop new rules that includes industry trade groups and five Western Slope counties (Mesa, Garfield, Rio Blanco, Moffat and Montezuma).

The primary health risk when living near oil & gas is exposure to toxic fumes and localized air pollution. Studies in Colorado have also found:

Oil & gas is responsible for increased levels of benzene and other air toxics in some regions of Colorado.

Colorado has likely underestimated the amount of chemicals emitted or leaked by oil and gas facilities.

Chemicals associated with oil and gas development have unique, identifiable fingerprints.

People living near oil & gas are more likely to have higher exposures to benzene and other air toxics.

Symptoms reported by neighbors of oil & gas match those symptoms linked to air toxics found in oil & gas.

Air toxics can travel as far as ½ mile from oil and gas operations during well completion “flow-back”.

Many chemicals associated with oil & gas are known to be harmful to health–and some have yet to be sufficiently studied.